Batman Day hits Manila

Hero calling. The bat sign looming over a Fully Booked store, in one of their promotional twitter posts.

Batman turned 75 years old this year and he's not showing signs of slowing down.

Last July 26 (Saturday), Fully Booked
store celebrated the caped crusader's anniversary with a day dedicated to his fans, both
young and old. This coincided with this weekend's Comic Con (one of the biggest shows for pop culture) in San Diego, California, USA where Batman was the event's main centerpiece.

In a number of Fully Booked branches in Metro Manila, free comic books were
handed out. Several graphic novels were also up for grabs at discounted prices that day. Batman inspired art installations were also displayed in key branches.

Batman art installations in Fully Booked the Fort branch.

Kids and kids-at-heart took selfies with the Mask Crusader's art installations in Fully Booked, the Fort branch.

Opening the mall on July 26

In the interest of proximity, we trooped to Fully Booked
branch in SM North just before the mall opened. Fortunately for us, we were able
to park near the entrance to the branch.

Manong guard was cool enough to let us
in and allowed us to queue inside the mall right in front of the store. There were
just 7 of us in line, not so frantic given that at that time according to twitter, the
queue was already very long in Fully Booked the Fort branch.

Calm before the storm. The Fully Booked branch in SM North minutes before throngs of comic fans came in.

Free comics for everyone.

One comic book each. Jacq claiming her free copy.

So that when 10 am came and as the store rolled up its
entrance, we were handed the treasured comic book in seconds, just like that.Too easy!

Later on as we exited the store, people clad in Batman
shirts, someone even wore a bat-cape, rushed to the store. There the long queue
started, but they were accommodated shortly without difficulty.

And they all came in... Batman fans rushing to the store.

Fans queued in Fully Booked-SM North.

Bat-man debuts

The free comic book is actually a reissuing of the original
1939 comic book story, “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate”. It was published in the Detective Comics series which featured different comics characters. This is where Batman made a debut when he was first introduced.

Priced catch. The Special Edition "Batman Detective Comics # 27"

Jacq was all grins after receiving her priced freebie.

It is a special 75th anniversary issue which also
features a contemporary retelling of the original story. Here you see how comic
book story-telling has significantly changed – with the graphics, script, and
approach differently done altogether (see its contents below).

Inside the special edition comic, the original 1939 story of "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate"

A 2014 re-telling of the original 1939 story. Cool change, eh?

With the limited edition comic in my hands, I felt blessed
owning this commemorative piece of Batman history. Thanks Fully Booked!

Gotham, the TV series

Comic geeks around the world are likewise anticipating the
newest TV series featuring Batman - Gotham.

(Taken from FOX TV)

Following the tradition of origin
story-telling exemplified by Smallville (of which I was a huge fan),
comes this FOX produced series. It will portray Bruce Wayne (in his adolescence), young Commissioner Gordon as well as a host of Batman and DC Comics villains.

Gotham city is where the story of Bruce Wayne and his
vigilante alter ego come to life. This is the infamous city riddled with organized crime
and corruption that sets the stage for the masked hero, the most human of all superheroes, to arise.

You can check out Gotham's trailer here.

Judging from the clip, the series is expected to be dark, a characteristic of the Batman movies and comics. From the looks of it, this will be more likely Gordon-centric but I am happy with that. Gordon is a relatable character nevertheless. They also casted some noteworthy Hollywood actors so I'll anticipate good production value at par with Smallville or Arrow.

I couldn't be more stoked!

I personally am excited to watch how they will portray
the origins of the Batman characters. I have
to admit, equally interesting as Batman are his villains who collectively are a
crazy bunch. Each of them suffer different kinds of insanity, so how they
eventually turn out to be villains is something worth watching out for.

Besides, after Smallville, I need a new TV series to follow
so for sure I have Gotham in my to-watch list.
(Thank God for the awesome technology that is torrent file sharing!).

Gotham series premiere will be coming to screens in the US this fall
(September 22).